Apparatus for separating materials of different specific gravities



C. SCHIFFERLE. APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING MATERIALS OF DIFFERENT SPECIFICAGBAVIHES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 14, 1918.

1,381,596. Patented June 14,1921..

BY FM A} ATTORNEY 5 fiuence of Qfintrifugal force, so that the par-UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING- MATERIALS OF DIFFERENT SIEGIFIC GBAVITIESQ T 0all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES SOI-IIFFERLE, a citizen of the United Statesand a resident of Marysville, county of Yuba, and State of California,have invented a new and useful Apparatus for Separating Materials ofDifferent Specific Gravities, of which the fol lowing is aspecification.

My invention relates to an apparatusfor recovering from finely crushedores, their valuable mineral content.

An object of my invention is to provide a method of separating materialsof different specific gravities by subjecting materials under theinfluence of centrifugal force to an opposed flow of fluid, preferablyair, under pressure.

Another object of the invention is to pro vide an apparatus in which thematerials to be separated are held in a mobile or substantially fluidcondition by a diffused flow of fluid, preferably air, while being actedon by centrifugal force.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of thecharacter described in which the ground ore is fed into the top of themachine and the tailings and concentrates discharged by gravital actionat the bottom of the machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of thecharacter described in which is incorporated means for forcing air underpressure into the material being treated to maintain it in a mobileorsubstantially fluid condition.

The invention possesses other objects and advantages some of which, withthe foregoing, will beset forth in the following description of thepreferred form of my invention which is illustrated in the drawingsaccompanying and forming part of the specification. It is to beunderstood that I do not limit myself to the showing made by the saiddrawings and description, as I may adopt variations of the preferredform within the scope of my invention as set forth in the claims.

In the concentrator of my invention, the dry finely ground ore issubjected to the action of centrifugal force while passing downwardlythrough the apparatus and at the same time is kept in a substantiallyfluid or mobile condition by a current of air passing through the massin a direction opposed to the movement of the materials under the in-Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 14, 1921.

Application filed March 14, 1918. Serial No. 222,347.

ticles of greater specific gravity which represent the values may passthrough and dis place the particles of lesser specific gravity. Thelatter as tailings are permitted to pass downwardly slowly under thepull of gravitation and discharge from the machine,

while the former collect in the machine during the rotation of thecontaining drum and may be removed by stopping the drum, whereupon theyalso will pass downwardly out of the drum under gravital pull.

The figure in the drawings is avertical section taken through the aXisof the machine.

The apparatus comprises a base B provided with holes 2 through whichproject the studs which secure the base to a suitable foundation. In thecenter of the base is a boss 3 in which is fixed a hollow stud it, andarranged to rotate upon the stud is the cir cular drum designatedgenerally by the letter D. Essentially the drum consists of a doublereceptacle or annular casing, the inner chamber .5 of which is adaptedto re ceive from the feed spout 6 the materials to be treated, and theouter chamber 7 of which is adapted to receive fluid, preferably airunder pressure which is introduced into the material to keep it mobile,so that under the influence of centrifugal force engendered by therotation of the drum, the values are concentrated upon the wall of theinner receptacle.

The drum comprises a main casting generally circular in plan andhorizontal section and substantially of the vertical section shown inthe figure. A central chamber 8 is inclose'd by the bell-formed wall orcasing 9 and bottom wall 10 of the casting, and fluid, preferably air,under pressure enters this chamber through the neck 13, formed by theupward extension of the casing 9. fluid tight rotatable connection'isprovided between the neck 13 and the end 14: of the airsupply pipe. Thisconnection consists of a stufing box 16, having a babbitt lining 17 andpacking 18 compressed by the gland 19.

Formed upon the bottom wall 10 and projecting into the chamber 8 is ahollow journal or socket 21 in which the stud 4 seats. bronze bearingbushing 22 is disposed between the hollow-journal and the stud-bearing,and aball thrust bearing 23 of suitable design to take the load of therotating drum and con tents is disposed .bfil ween the flanged end of 1fixed on the shaft 28 and driven by the pulley 29 from any suitablesource of power. The bottom wall is extended outwardly andthe edge givenan upward turn, and provided on the outside with a flange or lip 31. Thecasing 9 is also extended outwardly by the annular flange or wall 9which thus forms with the wall 10 a horizontal annular passage 32 whichis really an extension of chamber 8. A steel plate cylindrical shell 33is seated in an annular groove in the flange 31 and securely heldtherein by red bolts 34 passing through the flange 31 and through aclamp ring 36 disposedon the top edge of the shell. A second cylindricalshell 37 provided with apertures '37 and spaced from theshell 33 isdisposed between the clamp ring 36 and the outer edge of the wall 9.This shell, like the shell 33, is seated in annular grooves and'rigidlyheld in position by the rod bolts 34. The two shells thus form a casinginclosing the annular outer chamber 7 which is in communication with thecentral chamber 8 through the passage 32; and the shell 37 and the walls9 and 9 form an inner chamber 5 for the reception of the materials to betreated.

Spaced about the bottom of chamber 5 at suitable intervals are passages38 discharging upon the annular conical plate 39 lying below and securedto the bottom wall 10. Both tailings and concentrates are dischargedthrough these passages from the drum, although of course at differenttimes. The tailings discharging during the rotation of the drum arethrown outwardly from the outer edge of the plate 39 and are conveyedaway from the machine in the launder 41, annularly disposed about thebase of the machine; while the concentrates, discharged only when thedrum has come to rest, or nearly so, are deflected by the plate 39 andrun downwardly into the launder 42 in which they are conveyed away fromthe machine. Adjacent the top of the drum in the chamber 5 and suitablysecured to the clamp ring 36 is an annular conical plate 43 upon whichthe materials from the feed pipe Bdischarge. Upon striking the plate 43,the materials are thrown outwardly against the wall of the chamber 5 andbegin the downward journey through the machine, during which theconcentration of 'values takes place. It will be understood that sincethe-course ofthe material through the drum is downward, no power isexpended in ing the-materials from the bottom upwardly, which is thecommon practice. In operation, herefore, my machine requires onlysufiicient power to maintain the desired speed of rotation.

Means are provided upon the aperture wall 37 for delaying the downwardmovement of the ore and facilitating the concentration of the valuableparticles. Spaced vertically from each other at suitable intervals aboutthe wall are annular rings 44, and afilter cloth 46 is disposed uponthese rings. By means of annular retaining rings 47 sprung into positionthefilter cloth is tucked under each ring 44, sloping inwardly (towardthe axis of the drum) and downwardly to the inner edge of the next ring44 below. The retaining rings 47 form riffies or ledges upon whichthe'material 48 collects in its downward movement, and the slope of thefilter cloth is substantially parallel to the angle of repose of thematerial on the rillies at the determined speed of the drum, so that themass of materialbetween any two depth. 7

The fluid, preferably air, fermaintaining the materials. upon the filtercloth in a mobile state, is introduced under the desired pressure intothe chamber 8 through the neck 13. FI'OIIIChnIHbCIzS it fiows throughpassage 32 into the annular chamber 7,.the pressure at which it isintroduced being augmented by centrifugal force. From'the chamber 7, theair passes through the apertured wall or shell 37 and the filter cloth46 riflies 'is of substantially equal into the mass of finely dividedore, preventing it from packing and keeping it in a substantially fluidor mobile condition so that the heavier particles under the influence ofcentrifugal force gradually pass outwardly and collect upon the filtercloth displacing the lighter particles which therefore pass inwardly(toward the axis of rotation). The pressure of the air and the speed ofrotation of the drum are carefully determined so that the introductionof theair into the fine ore will not blow the finer particles out of themass.

entire mass of material. I 7

Vfith the accession of material from the on account of the cylindricalform of the shell 37 and the pull of gravitation. As soon as thematerial upon one riffle hasbuilt up to the angle of repose, theadditional material falls upon the next 'riflie below, the heavierparticles constantly displacing the lighter, which are forced inwardlytoward The filter cloth also assists in this by diffusing the air evenlyover the feed pipe 6, the material builds up upon the. filter cloth, thetendency being downward- When a sufiicientvdepth of concentrates hasbeen built up uponthe filter cloth, the drum is stopped, whereupon muchof'the material between the rifiies falls'to the bottom of the chamberand through the passages 38 upon the plate 39 and from thence into thelaunder 42. Concentrates remaining in the chamber 5 may be removed byflushing it out with water or by other appropriate means. 7

I claim:

1. In an apparatus of the character described," a rotatable drumcomprising a chamber having a cylindrical lateral up right wall, afilter cloth disposed upon said wall, annular rings disposed upon saidfilter cloth to form riflles on said wall, means for feeding material tobetreated against the upper portion of said wall to move downwardlythereon, and means for supplying fluid under pressure against saidfilter cloth.

a 2. In an apparatus of the character described, a rotatable drumcomprising achamher having a cylindrical lateral wall, annular ringsforming ledges arranged on said wall, a filter cloth disposed uponsaidwall and i a sloping inwardly and downwardly from the under side of eachledge to the inner edge of the next lowerledge, rifiles disposed on saidfilter cloth at each inner annular edge there of, means for feedingmaterial to be treated I upon the uppermost rifile and means forsupplying fluid under pressure against said filter cloth. 1

3. In an'apparatus of the character described, a rotatable drumcomprising a chamber having a cylindrical lateral wall, annular ringsforming ledges arranged on said wall, a filter cloth disposed upon saidwall and sloping inwardly and downwardly from the under side of eachledge to the inner edge of the next lower ledge, retaining rings forsaid filter" cloth forming annular rifiles arranged at each innerannular edge thereof, means forfeeding material to be treated upon theupper portion of said filter cloth and means for supplying fluid underpressure against said filter cloth.

4. In an apparatus of the character described, a rotatable drumcomprising a chamber having a cylindrical lateral wall, riffles disposedon said wall, means for feeding material to be treated to the upperportion of said wall, -means for introducing fluid under pressure intosaid material to maintain it in a substantially fluid state, means foraccumulating the values from said material upon the wall of saidchamber, means for permitting the centrifugal discharge of tailings fromthe bottom of said drum, and means for collecting the values betweensaid riflies.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, a rotatable drumcomprising a chamber for the reception of materials to be'treated,nieansfor rotating said drum, meansiforsfeeding materials into the topof said chamber against the lateral wall thereof, means for permitting agradual downward movement of said material under gravital influence,means for flowing fluid through thematerials-in a direction opposite tothat of the centrifugal force of said rotation, and means a foraccumulating the values from said material between said riflies. i

6. In an apparatus of the charactendescribed, a rotatable drumcomprising a chamber for the reception of materials to be treated, meansfor rotating said drum to subject said materials to the action ofcentrifugal force, means for feeding said materials into thetop of'saidchamber against the lateral wall thereof, means for accumulatingsaidparticles ofigrea'ter specific gravity on the walls of said chamber,means permitting the discharge of said material at the bottom of saidchamber, and means for in troducing fluid into said material to maintainit in a substantially fluid state. 3 t

7. In an apparatus of the characteri described, a rotatable drumcomprising a,

chamberhaving a continuous lateral wall for the reception of materialsto be treated, rifiies disposed on said wall, means for ro tating saiddrum to subject said materials to the action of centrifugal force, meansfor feeding said materials into the top of said chamber against thelateral Wall thereof, means for introducing fluid into said material tomaintain it in a mobile condition, whereby the particles of material ofgreater specific gravitymove outwardly to displace the particlesoflesser specific gravity, and means for permitting a gradual downwardmovement of said material under gravital influence, and means forcollecting the values from said material'between said rifiles. i

8. In an apparatus of the character described, a rotatable drumcomprising a chamber for the reception of materials to be treated, meansfor rotating said drum to subject said materials to the action ofcentrifugal force, means for feeding said ma terials into the top ofsaid chamber against the lateral wall thereof, means for introducingfluid into said material to maintain it in a mobile condition, wherebythe particles of material of greater specific gravity move outwardly todisplace the articles of lesser specific gravity, means or permitting agradual downward movement of said material under gravital influence,means for collecting said particles of greater specific gravity on thewalls of said chamber, and means for effecting the centrifugal dischargeof said particles of lesser specific gravity from the bottom of saidchamber.

9. In an ap aratus of the character described, a vertical rotatable drumcomprising' a. chamber forjthe reception of materialsto be treated,means for :rotatingsaid drum to subject said materials to the action of'centriugal torce,'2means for retaining concentrates against gravitaliflow while the drum is rotating, means :for feedingsaid -materials intothe top of said chamber against the lateral wall thereof, means liforintroducing fluid into said concentrated: material to maintain .it in amobile condition,

vwhereby the particles of material of greater specific gravity :moveoutwardly to displace the particles o'flesser specific gravity, meansfor, :permittinga gradual downward movement of said :lesser specificgravity material tom wall, an annular wall of less diameter than saidbottom :wa'llspaced therefrom and substantially parallel thereto, abell-:form casing integral with said annular wall on its inner edge, anannular ring spaced above said :bottomand annular walls, a pair ofconcentricishells having their upper edges seated in saidannular ring,the lower edge of oneof said shells being seated insaid bottom wall andthe lower edge ofthe shel-lbe; ing seated in saidannular wall, dischargepassages through said annular and bottom walls, ;a conical annular plate-:underlyin said discharge passages,;means .for feeding material intothe upper portion of said drum, and means for revolving zsaid r drum.

11. In an apparatus o'iUthe character described, a drum comprising anupright cygravital influence, means for admitting into a said material adiffused fiow of fluid from said casing whereby the particles ofmaterial of greater specific. gravity move out- Wardly to displace theparticles of lesser specific gravity, :means for" accumulating saidparticles of greater 5sPBCifi0fgI'aVitY in said inner chamber, and meansfor permitting the gravital and centrifugal discharge of said particlesof lesser .ispecific gravity from said drum.

12. A mineral concentrator, comprising a vertical rotatable drum havingan' inner porous wall spaced from the outer casing to form an (annularai r chamber, means to facilitatethe collection of the concentrates'onthe wall, meansifor discharging pulp centrifugally against/the upperinner surface of the wall so that it will gravitate downward thereover,means for supplying compressed air -to=the air chamber to pass inwardlygenerally and diffused through the pulp solids on the wall while thedrum is rotating to dislodge the parts of "lesserispecific gravity, andmeans at the bottom of the drum for. discharging the *tailings whilethe-drum is rotating. Y

In testimony whereof, Ihave hereunto set my hand ;at Martinez,California, this 7th dayof .March-l918. Y c

' CHARLES SCHIFFERLE. s In presence of C. H. HAYDEN.

